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Steam Kills Dust Mites

Do
you or family members suffer from allergies?

A 2003 Environmental Protection Agency report stated that childhood asthma rates are doubling. The EPA report is the agency’s second comprehensive look at the environmental hazards to children’s health. The finding showed the percentage of children getting asthma has doubled in two decades, rising from 3.6 percent in 1980 to 8.7 percent, or 6.3 million children by 2001. The exact cause for the increase is unknown but researchers state a number of factors have been studied. Those range from exposure to dust mites, cockroaches and pesticides to tobacco smoke, ozone and soot. EPA officials are examining the role of indoor air pollutants, such as dust mites, especially since there have been modest improvements since 1990 in lessening exposure to outdoor air pollutants. The reduction of indoor factors will be the key to reversing this trend. 1

Dust
Mites are microscopic creatures related to the spider family.
They are invisible to the human eye and are about 0.3mm in length.
They live on human skin flakes. They are most prevalent in the bedroom
where millions can exist in your mattress, boxspring, pillows and
comforters. They are also found in upholstered furniture, carpeting
and other fabric items. Dust mites produce 20 or more fecal pellets
per day, which is the primary allergen to humans. We inhale these
allergens while sleeping and during periods when these particles
become airborne such as when vacuuming and disturbing the infested
fabrics.

It
has been proven that dust mites and their allergen Der p1 are a
major factor in allergic reactions. A key to controlling allergic
reactions is controlling the dust mite population in your home.
Lower mite populations lower the amount of mite allergen, Der p1.
Other clinical studies have revealed that avoidance of dust mite
allergens in early childhood can prevent the onset of asthma in
adults. A study as reported in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy
tested the feasibility and effectiveness of using a portable, domestic
steamer for the control of dust mites, its effects on mite populations
and concentration of the allergen Der p1.2

A
domestic steamer was used to treat carpet squares that were
seeded with a known number of dust mites. The number of live mites
was monitored for 4 months and in 8 test squares and 8 control squares.
Measurement of mite populations and allergen levels were taken before
and after steaming with a domestic steamer.

The
results showed two significant findings. No live mites were found
in any of the eight steam-treated carpet squares. In contrast, the
numbers of live mites extracted from the eight-control squares rose
from a mean of 11 on day 3 to 185 four months later. The fact
that no live mites were found in any of the eight steam-treated
carpet squares at any time during the study shows that steaming
is a highly efficient method of killing house dust mites. More
significant for allergy sufferers is the measurement of the allergen
Der p1. There was no difference in the concentration of Der p1 in
dust samples of untreated carpets, but in those which had been steam
cleaned there was an average 87% fall in the concentration of Der
p1.

The
study concluded with:
"Steaming requires nothing more than water and heat and therefore
is non-polluting compared with mite eradication methods that require
the use of detergents and other chemical agents. Furthermore, the
design of domestic steamers, [such as the Jiffy® Steamer], renders
it safe for domestic use as long as the operating instructions are
followed. In addition, we observed no damage, or shrinkage of the
fabric, nor discoloration and the carpet dried within a half-hour
of treatment. There is no indication of prolonged retention of residual
moisture, as with wet-vacuum cleaning which may promote mite population
growth.

Finally,
steaming as reported herein is the only method of house dust mite
control that combines effective killing of mites and substantial
reduction in allergen concentrations within a single system. These
factors, taken together, render domestic steamers, [such as the
Jiffy® Steamer], especially suitable for the management of dust
mites and their allergens in the homes of allergy sufferers."

For
additional information and reading on maintaining a healthy home,
you may want to consider a book by Jeffrey C. May titled "My House
Is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma".3

1
As reported by Associated Press February 26, 2003 2
MJ Coloff, C Taylor, TG Merrett. The use of domestic steam cleaning
for the control of house dust mites. Clinical and Experimental Allergy
1995 25: 1061-6. 3
May, Jeffrey C(2001). My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma. John Hopkins University Press.